German journalist: not mistreated by Syrians

BERLIN (AP) — A German freelance journalist released from 12-weeks captivity in Syria says that he was not mistreated by his captors.

Billy Six told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that he entered Syria illegally in August and filed several stories for the conservative weekly Junge Freiheit before he was arrested at an army checkpoint in December.

The 26-year-old writer says he was driving in Hama region with his German-Arabic fixer, when their car was stopped by a dozen Syrian soldiers. Six says he spent time in solitary confinement in prisons in Hama and Damascus, but was never beaten or abused.

Six, who says he was accused of being a terrorist or spy, was released Tuesday in Damascus